2019 – International year of Indigenous Languages

Indigenous languages matter for social, economic and political development, peaceful coexistence and reconciliation in our societies. Yet many of them are in danger of disappearing. It is for this reason that the United Nations declared 2019 the Year of Indigenous Languages in order to encourage urgent action to preserve, revitalize and promote them.

The program area for Interreg Nord covers the Sami region – Sápmi – which means that the program is an important resource for ensuring and developing the Sami culture, industries and, above all, the Sami language. Interreg Nord has supported the Giellagáldu and Plupp projects, which have contributed to strengthening the Sami languages by involving 10,524 people in project activities. Some other projects that contribute to increased use of the Sami languages are AIDA, DigiAccess, Viesso duobddága and Beavnardahke. The program area also encompasses regions where Meänkieli and Kven are spoken and the Our stories project is an example where these languages but also Sami languages are used in the project’s activities.